Matthew Rothenberg

What if Apple Computer opened a store and nobody came? Thats a question Ive been asking myself as the Mac maker heads into its first holiday shopping season as a bona fide shopkeeper in the classic — not the virtual — mold. Apples fledgling chain of brick-and-mortar retail outlets (which CEO Steve Jobs unwrapped with […]

The second edge of Apple Computers finely honed marketing sword nearly lopped off a couple of the companys fingers this week, when CEO Steve Jobs took the wraps off Apples first non-Mac hardware product in nearly three years. Last weeks cryptic summons to witness the unveiling sparked a level of anticipation that would be absurd […]

The Mac OS X-native version of Microsofts Office suite took another step closer to store shelves on Wednesday, Oct. 24, when the company set a shipping date of Nov. 19 for the productivity package. Microsoft said it has begun offering preorder sales of the Office X suite, which has been tailored to conform with the […]

CUPERTINO, Calif.—Apple Computer Inc. on Tuesday burnished its vision of a consumer-friendly “digital hub” when CEO Steve Jobs introduced a new product category that breaks the Mac mold: the iPod, a portable digital audio player equipped with a FireWire connection. For good measure, Apple also took the wraps off Version 2 of iTunes, the companys […]

Score another one for the dark horse! When Apple Computer – the perennial longshot in the PC race – took the saddle blanket off its fiscal fourth-quarter results Wednesday, the Mac maker proved to have beaten analyst predictions and its own third-quarter performance. And in a truly dismal year for the PC industry, Apple demonstrated […]

Apple Computer on Tuesday, Oct. 16, fulfilled the predictions of Mac handicappers across the Web when it rolled out buffed-up configurations of its professional and consumer laptop lines. The latest iteration of the professional-strength Titanium PowerBook G4 includes a top-of-the-line configuration that packs a 667-megahertz PowerPC G4 processor and a 133-MHz system bus. The system […]

Mobile Mac fans, rejoice: New Books are on the way. Its brief flirtation with cloning notwithstanding, Apple Computer has always been under unique pressure compared with its counterparts on the Windows side of the fence. As the sole promulgator of Mac hardware and software, the company has shouldered the burden of keeping both sides of […]

Make no mistake about it: Apple Computers decision to cancel this weeks Apple Expo in Paris was a disappointment to Europes Mac fans and an upsetting echo of current uneasiness about air travel in the wake of the Sept. 11 World Trade Center tragedy. This tiny ripple of the current global crisis was certainly not […]

Whether its thanks to Europes lengthy relationship with the Mac, my enduring friendship with many of the regions Mac developers and journalists, or simply a taste for the indigenous pastries, Ive long taken a special interest in Apple Computers performance across the Atlantic. And when Apples moves on the Continent break precedent with long-established policy, […]

Apple Computers recent out-of-court settlement with a former employee who leaked details of its forthcoming hardware to the Web started me thinking again about a topic thats as old as the Mac itself: When does Apples legendary veil of secrecy begin to stifle – rather than protect – product innovation? Before I continue this line […]